The viral video of Marvin Sapp infamously telling the church ushers to “close the doors” until $40,000 was raised is still being shared across the internet. However, not everyone is joking about the clip.
On Monday, during an interview on “The Rickey Smiley Morning Show,” the controversial gospel singer attempted to clear up the situation and added that there have been many threats on his life since the video was shared online.
“People have called my church and cussed me out. My staff are afraid because I’ve received death threats,” said Sapp. “People have come to our campus. They have come to my church to try to cause problems, issues, (and) challenges.”
He further explained that this video was taken last year and that the offering wasn’t for him, “This was a service that happened last August... People took issue with me saying shut the doors. Understand I never said lock the doors... Shutting doors means people still have the ability to go in and out.”
Sapp also admitted that he was more “assertive” than he should’ve been and he apologizes for that. He also doubled down on his claim that the money was not for him, saying, “Not a dime of that money came to me.”
This is the second time the “Never Would Have Made It” singer has addressed the viral video.
Last week, in a statement on Facebook, he also gave context about his request for money.
He wrote in the post, “Some have taken issue with a particular moment when I instructed the ushers, rather firmly, to close the doors during the offering. To those unfamiliar with the church context or who may not regularly attend worship gatherings this has been misinterpreted as holding people hostage as well as offensive. That was never my intent.”